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The Health Benefits of Watermelon

So I have had this problem with my right knee swelling and starting to make a weird scrunching noise like the cartilage rubbing against the bone. This has been going on since I turned 40 years old (give or) so approximately 10 or so years. (Can you guess my age? LoL)

Anyways, just the other day I saw a whole watermelon in the store and I don’t usually buy watermelon, but I decided I wanted something different that would quench my summer thirst. When I got it home I let it set for about a two or three days, then put it in the fridge to get cool and then I finally cut that puppy open. And boy was it cold and delicious! It was sweet, ripe, juicy and awesome.

So after eating on this watermelon for a couple of days I noticed something about my knee. The swelling had went down and I didn’t feel the pain and stiffness that I usually feel when I do my jump rope exercises or walk down stairs. And I was like wow something is going on here. It seems like after eating this watermelon, my knee is trying to heal itself.

So of course me, with my always needing to research everything self, I came across this website called http://www.whfoods.org (world’shealthiestfoods.org) and after reading this it stated that according to scientific research watermelon has in it a high concentration of lycopene (a carotenoid phytonutrient) making it an excellent source of everything from anti-inflammatory to anti-oxidant nutrients for the body with phenolic compounds of flavonoids, carotenoids, and triterpenoids. Whodathunkit???

So, though I have no idea what all those big words mean, the point is that watermelon is a fruit you want to keep on your summer list of fruits to buy. It is also believed to be a good source for cardiovascular health benefits.

Apparently, watermelon gets it reddish-pink coloring totally from lycopene, whereas most other fruits do not. Grapefruit and guava also have a high concentration of lycopene. The riper and redder you let the watermelon get, the higher the concentration of lycopene and according to this article, there are also more nutrients in the rind of the watermelon the closer you get to the bottom of the watermelon.

Watermelon is also of vitamin C, biotin, magnesium, potassium, Vitamin A, copper, Vitamins B6 and B1 etc… It is believed the red and pink watermelons are the best for the lycopene nutrient.

So after about a week, the swelling is still down, though I can still hear the cartilage scrunching, the stiffness and pain has gone away. Of course I will be doing research on knees and cartilage next.

For more info. visit WWW.whfoods.org to find out other health benefits of watermelon. This is not a paid advertisement.